Gizmos Aplenty
by StrawberryGrass
Summary: Daryl's life is centered around one obsession: science. He is continuously seeking answers and has dedicated more than just his social life to discover them. That is, until one stormy night, a mermaid washes up on the beach and asks for his assistance: to get the farmer to fall in love with her. But does love have other plans for the scientist and the mermaid? (DarylxLeia)
1. Chapter One: Fishing Without A Pole

_**Hello, everyone. I introduce you to my newest story! I haven't written for HM in awhile, but I have finally decided to to this little piece. It will be a Leia and Daryl pairing, so be prepared! I have fallen for this couple, as odd as they seem and I think you will too. Daryl is an oddball, which I'm sure you all know, lol. ;)**_

_**Thanks for checking me out, and enjoy the story! **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, or these characters!**_

* * *

**Chapter One: Fishing Without A Pole**

The mornings in the simple little village of Forget-Me-Not were almost always the same. They consisted of a sunrise and little robins chirping from branch to branch, and always the ever obnoxious noise of a rooster sounding the call of the sunrise. Considering there was a lack of city pollution and building masses, the start of the day could be seen at the very moment the sun started peeking over the horizon.

To those who were up, it was truly a beautiful sight every single time the warming orb showed itself. It gave them the determination and courage to take on the world, and to give it their best. As was the same when it set for the day, ending the sun's reign and giving rise to the bright burning stars and glowing moon.

But even so, there were those who did not wake to greet the morning. And in the small village, there was only one man who lived up to that accusation.

As the light seeped through the upper rooms of the dark and gloomy house, a dark-haired man slept beneath it all. In a small basement under his own abode, was where he currently slept. Completely bunched up in his comforters, he was sleeping very contently on the Monday morning. Not a single alarm clock anywhere within the home, or for that matter, not even a single clock to give him the awareness of time. It was certain the man had no care for the useless necessity. He had plenty to spare in his life, and he wasn't anxious to be sleeping his days away.

As his messy black haired covered his face, the man's eyebrows scrunched up while he dreamt, every so often mumbling something incoherently. And while inside the man's own psych you realize exactly what he was so troubled about.

He ran through the field of grass, the shadows from the trees casting a solemn atmosphere on the area. He knew it was following him, the creature who haunted his dreams. But he didn't know how close it was. The white haunting beast. So all the man did was run the best he could, almost falling over his own legs from the velocity he desperately attempted to add to them.

Finally coming to a fork in the road, he hastily decided to go right and continued onward through what now seemed to be dense wilderness. The tree foliage only got thicker, as did the grass he was running through. He had to push away the thorny branches that ate away at his flesh, and manage through the tough mud that stuck to him so thickly.

He closed his eyes fearfully, knowing that he was running out of breath and it was only a matter of time before the beast caught up with him. Unexpectedly, his foot caught on a root and he slammed into the harsh, gritty dirt road beneath him. His breath caught in fear and he cautiously turned around to peer behind him, knowing all too well what was going to be there. And it was.

The humongous white creature stood on its hind legs, its teeth bared and a menacing growl reaching past its vocal cords. The man's eyes widened and it seemed then that time seemed to blend and blur together. The man knew he should have run, or hid, simply anything would have been better than just laying there. But right then nothing seemed to respond; his aching muscles from the restless running, or his will to survive.

He just stared at the beast, taking in the beautiful topaz color of its eyes. It was almost mesmerizing.

And as the monster drew back its massive paw filled with piercing claws, he man suddenly knew no more.

* * *

Waking up with a jump, Daryl, with hair sticking up in all directions, finally came back into reality. Giving himself a moment to catch his breath and calm down, he leaned back into his 'mattress'. He rubbed his face tiredly, trying to rid himself of the fatigue he felt in them. These long and relentless nightmares he had been experiencing have been constant every time he has gone to sleep. And no matter how he tried to escape the creature in his dreams, he couldn't ever manage it.

Deciding to forget his torment for a moment, the man sluggishly pulled the blue comforter off of his body and quickly got out of his bed. Making his way out of the basement, he ascended the stairs to his living room, which was also technically his lab. Coming to a halt, he pulled out a cup somewhere within a cupboard and started a pot of coffee. Though it did not matter much, considering it was already noon. The man obviously didn't seem to care though as he drank the dark brown liquid.

Pausing momentarily, he grabbed a spoon full of sugar and added it to his steaming cup. But as he brought it to his lips, he realized his mistake. Spitting the stuff out in disgust, he quickly put down the cup and cringed. He accidentally added baking powder. Whoops.

Quickly scurrying to his experiment table, he dragged his palm around on it, trying to locate his glasses. Which in term, not being able to see anything, caused him to 'run over' many other things. Such as needles, and hot testing utensils. Now panting, the man finally found his glasses and he quickly slipped them on. Only to literally face-palm when he realized these were his pair that had shattered when he ran into the tree the other day.

Grumbling incoherently, he chose to simply ignore the matter and continued on with his morning, which technically wasn't even morning anymore.

Eventually, the man finished making himself breakfast. It consisted of baking soda coffee and some plain toast, which he forgot he had bread up until now, so no knowing how old it was. But it didn't contain mold, so to him it was safe to consume.

Stuffing his mouth with it, and grabbed several sheets of paper and started reading them.

Mumbling as his eyes scanned the page, the man finally decided what he would do today. As you probably already guessed, the man is an "inventor" of sorts, and he is rather obsessed with it. And soon he was going to try and do his most amazing feat. Cloning a cow.

Now the notion might sound ludicrous, but the scientist had faith in what he was capable of. And ever since he was little, he promised himself he would accomplish cloning an animal. And he had chosen cows as his specimen, long before any other species. He despised the creature more than anything and now he was finally able to act on his revenge.

So, that was what he had decided to do. And now, after moving away and getting his own home, he was finally able to act on his plans.

Finishing his detestable beverage, he quickly got dressed, which consisted of a wrinkled teal dress shirt, a torn red tie, a lab coat that was tethered horribly, and last but not least his dress shoes that were literally falling apart. With this final dressing orders in check, he headed outdoors.

The afternoon sun was giving off warmth to everything around it. Almost if it was joyous to be doing so. But the man paid no attention to it and continued on, heading directly where he needed to go.

The villagers all conversed with with another while walking down the street. Even though it was a small village, it was a pleasant place to reside for many of them and it offered something that the city could not: peace. But the man didn't pay any mind to them either, and hurried along.

It didn't take him long to arrive at his destination. It was a small farm, in the early ages of development. The man knew someone had moved in and was repairing it, so he was excited to see all the new cows that would soon occupy its fields. Rounding the barn, he came to a fenced up area. All that was in it was a single black and white cow, grazing the grass hungerly.

He licked his lips and proceeded with caution. "You sickening beast.." He muttered, his eyes darkening with malice. But right before he was about to step inside the fence, a voice called out. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Turning around as quick as lightening, the scientist smiled innocently, coming face to face with the new, and angry, farmer, "I was only admiring your cow; she's a real marvel." He said, slowly removing himself from the fence and away from the farmer.

"Well, thanks. I'm just starting out, so that means a lot to hear that from someone." The farmer eyed the man suspiciously before letting out a sigh and shrugging. "My name is Manny, as you can probably tell I'm the new farmer," he stated matter-a-factly, "my father passed away and I chose to come here and run it.. besides," his eyes narrowed, "I have nothing better to do, according to Takakura."

The scientist just stared at him bewildered, before backing away very slowly.. And then running off like a mad man.

Manny raised an eyebrow. "Okay. That was weird. I mean, I've seen Harvest Sprites this week. I thought things couldn't get weirder, but I guess I was wrong." Shaking his head, he walked further into his farm, along the way muttering, "This is such a strange place."

* * *

Finally coming to a halt at the end of the road, the man quickly took a look behind him. His eyes scrunched up in distrust, before he started stalking down the dirt road again. He knew where he was headed. It was the same place his nightmares always began. Even so, he did not have any reluctance to go to the area. It had a pleasant scent and seemed to calm him down.

As he walked along the path, his hunched back and shoulders slouched. He didn't seem to care all too much for it though, considering his eyes and current thoughts were on the 'special someone' on the other side of the river, who he just seemed to notice through the trees.

Her golden curly blonde hair blew gently in the wind, as the stray sparkles of water seemed to cascaded around her. She had beautiful amethyst eyes, which shone like crystals in the sunlight. The man had one thing he liked about the sun: the energy it gave off and the beauty it gave this woman.

He stood there on the riverbank, taking in her features for ages, a tint of pink on his cheeks. He breathed silently, staring at her almost as if in a trance. But then that all ceased when a dark-haired man walked up along side her, "C'mon Flora, we better get back to work. We have to finish before sunset." The man, Carter his name, said to her.

Flora looked up at him and smiled happily, "Alright, Professor."

As she stood up to leave, the scientist watching from a distance couldn't help but curse the man. He was so lucky he had her as an assistant. She was so perfect in every way. And he couldn't get anywhere near her, not without the Archaeologist-of-a-loser getting in the way.

Suddenly, said Archaeologist looked his way.

Carter raised an eyebrow at the scientist, but as if realizing what he was doing standing there watching them, he smirked mischievously. Quickly snatching Flora's hand, he hastily led her down the steps into the research hole. But before Carter could see the look of deject on the scientist's face, the man was already gone from his viewing spot.

Carter was honestly surprised. That was fast.

Shrugging it off, the Professor headed into the hole, following his assistant.

* * *

The buzz of his laboratory was the only sound that could be heard. The humming noise seemed to come from nowhere in particular, and yet it was never ending. A man sat on a dirt and grime encrusted sofa, the shadows hiding his face. It seemed that the ambiance of the abode was the same with the gentleman's mood; _sullen_.

Finally when he looked up, he longingly stared at the pieces of paper currently sitting on the table in front of him, as if mocking him. He had so many plans for what to do in the future. So many unachieved goals, all of which he was destined to finish, he knew. But he didn't know how that was to be done.

Standing up and making his way over to his center table, he grabbed a small vial filled with orange substance in it. Studying it for a moment, he walked over to his window. Pulling the tiny cork out of the vial, he grabbed a plant off of the window-sill, which was wilted from insufficient sunlight and water and poured a small amount into the dried plant's soil. He waited patiently, simply looking over at the other creations he had failed. Cloning a cow wasn't his only desire to achieve, something much more import was needing to be completed before anything else. This, he knew, had to work eventually. He had created the serum when he was a kid and even though it had many kinks-such as catching the plant on fire, or completely killing it, but he never gave up trying to make it successful. And even after so many years, he still couldn't remove all the imperfections.

As the plant exploded within the pot, the man set it back down. It would return to normal in ten minutes. The plant wouldn't be burned, or even singed. It was a strange occurrence, but it wasn't the one the scientist was looking for.

Grabbing his dirty lab coat, he slowly opened his laboratory door and headed outside. Only when finally making it to the outdoors, did he realize it was pouring down rain. How hadn't he noticed it before?

"Whatever does it matter." He said out loud, walking towards the beach, which was currently roaring with anger. The muddy grass and dirt covered his shoes with water and muck. Though he obviously didn't care, considering the other eighty percent of his body was already covered in dirt and who knows what else.

Finally making it to the sandy beach, he watched as the water levels were so high, that even though he was just on the outlines of the beach the sea water was brushing up again his shoes. He heard the threatening thunder boom around him, the flashes of lightning intimidating. They didn't phase him, though. The lightning storms fascinated him. The powerful weather occurrences were a marvelous sight by themselves, he didn't have to add, or take anything away from it to be viewed as stunning. It was naturally crafted that way.

And after time had passed and the storm weakened, the man continued standing there. His entire body completely soaked in water, his sloppy raven locks obscuring his glasses. The water level was already up to his ankles, his shoes long ago ruined. But he did not pay any mind to it, but instead let the chilling spring wind blow through him, making his lab coat soar from his back like a superhero's cape.

The man peered a look into the sky, brushing his hair out of his view. He saw the first signs of clear night sky: one lone star among the darkness. Letting out a subtle sigh, he whispered into the coolness of the night, "What am I to do next?"

Although he wasn't truly awaiting a response, he stared into the clearing nighttime sky anyway. His dark eyes seemed to yearn for something; _anything_. But the sky did not reply.

Seeming to realize his redundant actions, the scientist scoffed in disbelief and averted his gaze, "I truly am foolish."

Deciding that the best action would be to get away from the silent sky, he started heading back up towards his laboratory. But right before he could entirely leave the water, his foot caught on something, that something of course causing him to lose his footing.

Smacking face down into the soggy sand, the scientist became one with the beach. That is until he angrily sat back up.

"What the hell was that?!" His already shattered glasses were off his face as he turned around to look at what he fell over, which in the middle of night, was extremely hard to see.

At first to him it seemed like a wooden log, but when he poked it, it was squishy. Retracting his arm nervously, he quickly dragged his hands around in the sand to find his glasses. "Now would be an excellent time for me to be half feline!" Quickly finding them, he put them on. Only now his vision was obscured by a massive amount of sand on his lenses. Muttering certain words under his breath, the scientist finally wiped off his glasses with his lab coat and quickly placed them back into place.

As he peered down at the being, his eyes widened in disbelief. Laying there completely unconscious was a girl. Her face could not be made out because she was laying on her stomach, but it was enough to alert the man. Maneuvering over to her in a rush, he first checked for a pulse. Fortunately, there was one. But then while he was doing that, he also realized something else..

There was a large fish tail attached to her lower abdomen. As if.. it were apart of her.

* * *

_**There you have it. I want to add something real quick: this story will be mainly romance/comedy, but it will also have drama and a little bit of angst. Simply because I don't think any story is complete without a little bit of everything. **_

_**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! Also, if you see any errors, please alert me of so! ~**_


	2. Chapter Two: A Wonder With a Tail

_**Sup, everyone! Here is the next chapter for Gizmos Aplenty. I had a lot of ways to write this chapter, so that's why it took me a little longer! Thanks for your kind reviews! They made me smile. **_

_**I would like to add, Fanfiction has Daryl's name as "Daryll", but that is not how his name is spelled in the game, so I won't spell it that way. Just in case that made anyone confused. **_

**_Anyway, onto the story!_**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own HM, or anything relating to it. :)**_

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**Chapter Two: A Wonder With a Tail**

After making it out of the nighttime spring temperature captivating the outdoors, Daryl shut his laboratory door with caution. He did not exactly want to deal with waking up neighbors, which didn't really matter considering his only real neighbor was Cody, who technically never slept. And Patrick, Kassey, and Gustava were too far to even notice. But he wanted to be sure.

He quickly placed the woman on his sofa, but not without first sweeping all the 'dirt infested' objects off of it. Now in the luminous light of his dull yellow light bulb, he was finally able to take in the woman's appearance.

Her emerald colored hair and her delicate looking eyes was the first thing he noticed. Though she was unconscious, he knew she must have had beautiful eyes. And surprisingly, even though she was submerged in water for who knows how long, her complexion was normal. Her cheeks were a light pink and her lips looked smooth. He diverted his gaze away from her _odd _ligament. He didn't want to acknowledge the possibility...

He shook his head roughly. It was just a prank on him again, surely by one of the town's folk. If it had happened once, it would most likely happen again.

Standing back up and looking at the girl, he let out an indecisive sigh. He was really going to regret this; he always made sure he never let anyone into his abode, yet alone, carry them in himself. But he knew the instant after the shock of finding her, that he could not leave her out there alone. She was just a young woman, after all. Even if it was a cruel joke on him he wouldn't abandon someone carelessly.

Turning around, he walked over to his lab table and leaned against it with his elbows. Placing his head in his hands, he took a deep breath and exhaled. "I am a scientist for goddess sake, not some women-caretaker." He scowled, glaring at nothing in particular.

His mind fought over the many different scenarios of things that could result from this, and all of them seemed to end badly. He could be under a spell for all he knew, or worse than that, be thrown in prison for harboring a supernatural being!

It was his naturally tendency to question the events that occurred in his life, so this feeling of anxiousness was something that he knew very well. And now, was definitely not an exception.

In the morning when she woke up, he would kick her out. She did not have anything to do with him and he didn't want to be 'friends' with anyone currently, especially not with someone who could be deceiving him. Yes, that was what he would do.

Releasing the grip on his forehead, his glasses unfortunately fell off his face.. and thus cracking even more on the metal table beneath him.

Feeling as though he was about to blow up into a million pieces, Daryl quickly chunked his shattered glasses in his radio-active trashcan, before stomping down the stony stairs to his basement, grumbling all the way.

This day had been so disastrous. He was going to sleep now, even though the sun was beginning to peek through his curtains.

* * *

He had no idea what time it was when he woke up, but it was hot underneath his blanket, so he assumed it must have been in the early afternoon.

He sat up and flung his legs off his bed, rubbing his crust infested eyes tiredly.

Although it was a normal occurrence, he did not enjoy sleeping in all day. He did enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the morning, and the sound of the birds chirping outside, barely audible because of the loud hum of his generator, every so often. It gave him determination to fight the day, and to make the best with what it offered him. But then his groggy mind told him that wasn't an option. Sleep was better.

Unfortunately, without his glasses, he was as good as blind going up the cement stairs to his ground floor, and it caused him to run into the door frame when he finally reached the top.

Rubbing his forehead, Daryl went to his trashcan and dug out his shattered glasses with a look of disappointment on his face. If he had to get new glasses, then Dr. Hardy was going to make him pay extra, considering this was his third new pair this month. And quite honestly, he just didn't have the money. Not after all the equipment he had to continuously order from the city, to replace the ones that he accidentally destroys in his experiments.

Scowling, he stuck the shameful eye glasses on his face. It didn't help, as he only saw hundreds of little pieces of what he was looking at. A big mess that looked similar to a puzzle, called his vision.

Grumbling under his breath, he stomped away from the trashcan and instead moved over to the counter placed in the center of his home. Grabbing several vials and flasks, he began measuring the substances as he placed them in carefully.

He noticed several days ago that if he added more potassium to his mixture, his result was less potent. It instead, made the plant only sizzle and singe the leaves slightly; it wasn't as flammable. It made him slightly cautious, though, as he had altered the reaction without first making sure it wouldn't create a bomb on accident. He knew that the potassium wouldn't have made it more likely to explode, but he wasn't sure if the gas given off by the reaction would be very safe to inhale. That is as to why he was doing this now.

Seeing his theory correct, he smiled to himself. Was he slowly finding the solution to this experiment?

Suddenly a loud thud echoed throughout his home, causing him to jump in surprise. His eyes wide, he slowly walked past his counter and towards his couch. And all of the previous night events came back to him in a flash.

Unable to contain his alarm, he quickly scanned the room for the source of the noise, but he saw nothing. Where did she go? She was a _fish_, wasn't she? She couldn't exactly move!

Ransacking his own home, he searched everywhere; until the obvious answer of where she was came to him.

Literally jumping down all of his steps into his basement, he turned towards his only human necessity that he actually owned in his actual abode; his **bathtub**.

And that was where she was, completely submerged in the clear and warm liquid, her tail escaping at the end, and a giddy, content smile playing on her lips.

"Aww, this feels so nice! I haven't experienced hot water like this in _so_ long!" Her voice rang out, the sight and sound making Daryl freeze in his spot.

The silent and shocked expression didn't last long, however, as it was quickly replaced with horror and his eyes widened. This was it; he was officially insane. He was imagining a _mermaid_, in his bathtub.

"Nope," he said, turning around and staring at his bed in complete disbelief. It was a prank, it had to be! There was nothing like this in the world. They were fairy tales, something for young children! Not something swimming in his bathtub!

He had been told his whole childhood that these kind of things were just myths, and that believing in them was just a waste of time and that it was something the young prodigy did not need put into his brain. He was a scientist, not a mythology theorist!

So this had to be a prank on him, because he knew that it couldn't true. The villagers considered him mentally insane, and none of them enjoyed his residence here, so it was the most likely an insulting, degrading prank!

Nodding to himself, he repeated the same words over and over in his head, until he simply could not contain himself any longer.

Rough chuckles of incredibility began flowing from his lips, and his eyes seemed to slowly become smaller.

Turning back around towards the mermaid, a twisted smile formed on his features. "Did the villagers tell you to lie on the beach and pretend to be unconscious?" He asked, desperation coating his tone, with a hint of hysteria, "for my sake, to tease me, the freak that lives in the shack away from everyone else?"

Her expression was shock at his outburst, and seemed to meld into sorrow as he continued.

"You can feel free to remove that imitation fishtail, because I have discovered the truth." He glared, his emotions flying all over the place, "You villagers did marvelous, because I actually felt compassion towards you." His eyes flashed with pain, as he looked towards her, but it quickly flipping back to aggression.

Unable to contain himself, and unable to continue his angry stare towards her, Daryl directed his glare towards the ground. "Why.." he whispered out, his eyes slowly opening and closing, "why, _why_, do you all detest me?" he asked, although it seemed he was now only talking to himself.

"It's not as if I came here to be treated this way, I came to get away from it. And now," this time his eyes shut tightly, as if it hurt him emotionally to admit this to himself, "And now.. it's exactly the same as before."

He eventually grew silent, and with his gaze to the cold, hard flooring, it caused his dark hair to cascade over his distraught features.

"I stay away from all the townsfolk, I attempt to speak to them as limited as I can manage, but they still insist on harassing my existence, and I don't know what I should do anymore. But please, tell them to cease their actions, for I can't take it any longer." He held his face in his hands, and restrained himself from continuing.

The only thing that followed was the buzzing of his generator, as Daryl did not know what else he could say that would end the situation he was in. If the townsfolk really insisted he move, by showing him hatred, then he would leave. And he would never return.

A break in the silence came, when a small voice filled the space, "I am not with them." She said, he facial expression solemn and comforting, "I would never prank a man that saved my life."

Daryl's head slowly began to rise, as she continued in a soothing voice, "I do not know who these villagers are, but I am not one of them. If that is how they deal with people they don't like, insulting them and playing tricks on them, then I am glad you are an outcast from the village." She spoke seriously, her gaze towards the scientist never faltering, "So, please, do not feel sad about not being accepted. I think if they are that way, than it is actually a compliment to say that you are different."

A soft smile bloomed on her face, as her amethyst eyes suddenly began to shine, "Because you saved my life last night, I owe you one. A horrid person would never rescue a woman washed up on the beach, especially one that isn't human." She added, laughing slightly at her own joke.

His eyes met her's, and he took in the various unique colors that clashed in them, awe filling his own dark pupils.

"So c'mon, don't be impacted by what they do, okay?" She asked, her head tilting with her question, her tone light and kind.

Daryl seemed lost for words, so all he did was stand there, as if trying to process what had just happened. A woman assured him that being apart from that town was a blessing, and that she was glad he saved her? It seemed to him something that would have never been spoken to him, but somewhere deep down, he was truly grateful for her uplifting words.

Something warm seemed to spread through his chest, causing him to lightly brush his fingers against it. He changed his mind; he wasn't kicking this woman out.

Seeing the scientist in the clouds, the mermaid couldn't help but chuckle at him. This caused the dazed man to come out of his thoughts and focus back on her.

"What's your name, kind hero?" She asked, a pleasant smile dancing on her lips.

"Uhh-" he stammered, slightly embarrassed, until finally rushing out, "Daryl, and I am no hero. I am a scientist!" He corrected, although more harshly than he would have liked.

But she seemed unaffected by him, and instead said, "Well, then. Nice to meet you, kind scientist. I am the mermaid, Leia."

* * *

_**Tada, and there you have it! Now they have been properly introduced, I suppose. :) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I tried the best I could with the chemistry portions, but if they are weird, feel free to tell me! Thanks for reading, and please tell me what you thought! See ya~**_


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